Sandwich Shop & Deli Opening Checklist
A Sandwich Shop & Deli opening checklist starts with the cold line: probe and log every prep well, under-counter fridge and display case at 0–5°C (32–41°F) before a single sandwich is built. These 9 checks run from the cold-line log through the day-7 discard list and open-condiment dates to the grab-and-go case, and every one is backed by published data - 91.2% of deli departments in FDA's 397-collection study were out of compliance on holding time and temperature. Get the line right before open and the rest of the day is prep, not recovery.
The checklist · 13 checks
Cold before you build
1. Check and record the temperature of every prep well, under-counter fridge, walk-in fridge and display case before you build the first sandwich (0–5°C / 32–41°F)Keeping food at the right temperature is the rule delis fail most often. The reading tells you whether last night's stock is still safe to sell.
2. Check the product's temperature, not the air. Read the top of the pan in each wellThe air temperature can look fine while the top inch of tuna mayo or sliced chicken sits well above 5°C (41°F).
3. Fill prep-well pans only to the fill line. Keep lids and covers closed between buildsOverfilled pans and open lids are the two easiest ways to push a well above 5°C (41°F) before lunch.
4. If any unit is above 5°C (41°F), move the stock, record the time, and stop building from that unit until it is back in rangeFood held above 8°C (46°F) cannot be sold. Decide that at 9am, not after it is on a customer's plate.
Yesterday's stock decides today's line
5. Work through the discard list FIRST. Take anything at day 7 or beyond off the line before doors openUnder the US FDA Food Code, opened ready-to-eat food has a strict 7-day life at 5°C (41°F) or below. Use the day count your own food code requires. It is better to pull it at open than to find it mid-shift.
6. Check the date on every open condiment, dressing, spread and prep container poured into another containerTubs poured into another container have no printed date. Undated prep is the part of rotation you can't see, and the easiest discard to miss.
7. Check yesterday's unsold-by-filling and sell-out log before you start preppingIt is the only number that tells you to make six tuna and twelve chicken today, not the other way round.
Set the line and the case up to sell
8. Confirm every bestselling filling, bread and salad item is in stock and at the right level (par)A bestseller that's out of stock at 12:15 is a sale you can never get back, and a customer who tries the shop next door instead.
9. Set up the grab-and-go case: full, faced, with labels and use-by dates facing outwardA faced case shows you what you actually have. Visible dates stop the oldest pack from being the last one picked up.
Hygiene & safety
10. Wash your hands with soap before you put on gloves.Gloves do not stop germs that are already on dirty hands.
11. Wash your hands again after every break, including bathroom breaks.A break lets new germs onto your hands before you touch food again.
12. Check the allergen list against today's fillings before you open the line.Staff need the right allergen facts ready before the first customer asks.
13. Look for pest signs, such as droppings or gnaw marks, around the prep area before you open.A quick look catches a pest problem before customers see it.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature should a sandwich prep well be kept at?0–5°C (32–41°F), measured in the product rather than the air, with 8°C (46°F) as the do-not-sell line. FDA's deli-department study found the item 'foods requiring refrigeration are held at the proper temperature' 70.0% out of compliance, and CDC's deli work found 1 in 6 delis running a refrigerator that was too warm. The gap between 4°C and 8°C is not cosmetic: Listeria colony growth roughly doubled between them, 0.03 versus 0.06 per hour.
What should you do first when opening a deli?Action the discard list before the doors open. Opened ready-to-eat product has a maximum of 7 days at 5°C (41°F) or below under the FDA Food Code, counting the day of opening, and date marking is out of compliance in 52.2% of deli departments - so anything at day 7 or beyond comes off the line first, along with any undated open pack. Pulling at open costs you a few minutes; finding it mid-service costs you the service.
How often should cold line temperatures be checked?At least once in each part of the day - opening, pre-lunch, post-lunch and close - not just once at open. Display and storage units drift during trade: in a survey of 780 pre-packaged sandwiches at retail, 29% were stored above 5°C (41°F) and 11% above 8°C (46°F), with one sample on display at ambient 17.9°C (64°F). A reading taken only at 8am tells you nothing about the pan you are building from at 1pm.
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Sources
Every statistic on this page comes from public inspection and food-safety data:
- FDA Retail Delis 2015–2016
- CDC EHS-Net, Retail Delis practice summaries
- CIDRAP report on FDA risk factor study
- FDA Trend Analysis Report
- FDA Food Code 3-501.17, Date Marking
- CDC MMWR, Retail Deli Slicer Cleaning Frequency
- FDA/FSIS Comparative Risk Assessment, Lm in RTE Deli Meats
- FSAI, Microbiological Safety of Pre-Packaged Sandwiches
- Champions 12.3, The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Restaurants
- ReFED Fact Sheet: Food Waste by Sector - Retail
- Harrison, Peters & Fielding, J Appl Microbiol 2000
- Purdue University release on Simmons/Oliver retail deli Listeria studies
- Chilled Food Association, The 10 Day Rule for Shelf Life
- CDC Vital Signs: Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks
- Hong Kong CFS, Microbiological Quality of Higher Risk Buns and Sandwiches
- EFSA/ECDC EU One Health 2024 Zoonoses Report
- Bartsch et al., Public Health Reports 2018, via Johns Hopkins BSPH
- IGA, 4 Ways To Reduce Deli Shrink
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